Liberal International

188th Executive Committee

Barcelona, 30 31 March 2012
hosted by the Catalan Group of Liberal International

Arab Spring, One Year On:

Impacts and Perspectives
Comprehensive Programme of Events

Friday 30 March 2012

Time Activity
*
09:15 10:00 ALDE/CDC CONFERENCE
ARAB SPRING: ONE YEAR ON
Palacio Real de Pedralbes
Avinguda Diagonal, 686,
08034 Barcelona

Welcome by
Artur Mas, President of the Government of Catalonia

Opening of the Conference

Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE President
Fathallah Sijilmassi, Secretary General of the UfM
Graham Watson, ELDR President
Hans van Baalen, LI President
Wael Nawara, President of the Arab Alliance for Freedom and
Democracy
10:00 11:30 ALDE/CDC CONFERENCE *
ARAB SPRING: ONE YEAR ON
Session 1 : Arab Spring, one year on and the role of the liberals
and democrats in the democratization process

Presentations by :
Mohammed Laenser, Minister of Interior Affairs, Morocco (tbc)
Mahmoud Gebril, Former Libyan Transitional National Council Prime
Minister, Libya
Ayman Nour, President of Al Ghad Party, Egypt
Ahmad Hariri, Secretary General of the Future Movement, Lebanon
Yasmine Brahim, Former Transport and Infrastructure Minister,
Tunisia
Allabwani Gamal, Member of the Syrian National Council (tbc)
Said Sadi, Leader of the Algerian Rally for Culture and Democracy
Bernardino Len, EU Special Representative for the Southern
Mediterranean Region

Moderator:
Edward Mc Millan-Scott, Vice President of the European Parliament
11:30 12:00 Coffee and tea break and Press Conference

*
Entry to the ALDE/CDC Conference is limited only to those who have received confirmation of
attendance to this Conference
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12:00 13:30 ALDE/CDC CONFERENCE *
ARAB SPRING: ONE YEAR ON
Continuation of Session 1 : Arab Spring, one year on and the
role of the liberals and democrats in the democratization process
- Open debate
Moderator: Wael Nawara, President for the Arab Alliance for
Freedom and Democracy
13:30 15:00 Lunch
hosted by ALDE

14:00 16:00 LI REGISTRATION DESK OPEN

Hotel NH Constanza
Merida Room

15:00 16:15 LI EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

Hotel NH Constanza
Merida Room

Panel: LI delegation to the UN Human Rights Council and the

situation in Syria

Chair: Dr. Juli Minoves-Triquell, Deputy President of LI

15:00 17:00 ALDE/CDC CONFERENCE *
ARAB SPRING: ONE YEAR ON
Session 2 : Relaunching the Euro-Mediterranean partnership in
the context of the Arab Spring

Ahmed Khairy Ahmed, Spokesperson of the Free Egyptians Party

Fatehllah Oualalou, Mayor or Rabat and member of ARLEM (Euro-
Mediterranean Assembly of Regions and Municipalities)
Senn Florensa, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Government of
Catalonia and president of IEMED (European Institute of the
Mediterranean)
Nursuma Memecan, Member of Parliament and President of the
Turkish delegation of the Council of Europe
Moncef Cheikh-Rouhou, Member of the Tunisian Constituent
Assembly (tbc)
Kristiina Ojuland, ALDE MEP, Member of the Foreign Affairs
Committee

Moderator: Jordi Xucl, Member of the Spanish Parliament and

Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the UfM

16:30 18:00 LI EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

Hotel NH Constanza
Merida Room

Panel: Current situation in Egypt and future perspectives

Chair: Hans van Baalen MEP, President of LI

Speakers:
Wael Nawara, President for the Arab Alliance for Freedom and
Democracy
Maikel Nabil, Human Rights Activists and Blogger

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17:00 19:00 Session 3 : European Union and the Arab Spring Policy.
Sustaining liberty and democracy

Ronald Meinardus, FNS Regional Director for Middle East and North
Africa
Abir Al-Sahlani, Vice President of LI, Swedish Member of
Parliament, and Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the UfM
Fawaz Tello, Member of the Syrian National Council (tbc)
Elena Peresso, Member of Trade Commissioner Cabinet Karel De
Guchts
Marietje Schaake, ALDE MEP Urgency's coordinator
Keith Whitmore, President of the Congress of Local and Regional
Authorities of the Council of Europe

Moderator: Roger Albinyana, Director of the program on the Union

for the Mediterranean of the Catalan Government
19:00 19:30 Conclusions of the Conference
Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck, ALDE Foreign Affairs Coordinator
Oriol Pujol, Parliamentary party leader, CDC
20:00 Welcome reception for LI EC participants
hosted by LliD/Catalan Group of LI

Hotel NH Constanza
C/ Deu i Mata 69-99
08029 Barcelona

Welcome words
Hans van Baalen, President of Liberal International
Josep Soler, Vice President of Liberal International

Introduction
Carles A. Gasliba, President of Fundaci Llibertad i Democrcia,
former LI Bureau member

Keynote address
Hon. Dr. Andreu Mas-Colell, Minister of Economy, Finance and
Universities in the Catalan Government

Saturday 31 March 2012

Time Activity
Venue:
Hotel NH Constanza
C/ Deu i Mata 69-99
08029 Barcelona

08:30 12:00 Registration Desk open

09:30 11:00 LI EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

Panel:
"The Global Impact of the Arab Spring: fact or fiction"

Chair:
Hans van Baalen MEP, President of LI

Speakers:
Sergei Mitrokhin, Chairman of the Russian Democratic Party
Yabloko, Russia

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 Osvaldo Alfonso Valds, Vice President of Union Liberal Cubana,
Cuba
Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba, Chairman of the Civic United Front,
Tanzania
Ivan Doherty, Director for Political Party Programme of the National
Democratic Institute, USA
Wael Nawara, President for the Arab Alliance for Freedom and
Democracy

11:00 11:30 Coffee break

11:30 14:30 LI EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

administrative session

Break
(lunch; individual arrangement)

16:00 18:30 LI Human Rights Committee

administrative Session

HRC Panel:
Strong Women as a Force For Change: the Arab Spring and
Beyond

Chair: Mr. Lennart Nordfors, Chair of Swedish Liberal International

Centre

Speakers:
Dr. Hoda Badran, President of Alliance of Arab Women (consultative
Status with ECOSOC) and the Egyptian Feminist Union
Anne Brasseur, President of Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in
Europe in the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe,
Luxembourg
Abir Al-Sahlani, Member of Parliament of Centerpartiet, Sweden;
LI Vice-President; Chair of LI Human Rights Committee
Loubna Amhair, Member of Parliament of Mouvement Populaire,
Morocco

18.30 End of the programme

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